1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to computer file security systems and more particularly, to such systems that enable an owner to protect and control access to a file after the file or permission to access the file has been granted.
2. Description of the Related Art
Today, when the owner of a file or attachment (a file), wants to transmit a confidential copy of the file to a recipient, the file is encrypted with a secret password that must be used by the recipient to open the file. Normally, the password is sent to the recipient before the file is sent so it may be opened immediately by the recipient. Because the recipient can forward the file and the password to anyone without the owner's approval or knowledge, such systems only offer protection with recipients who agree not to transfer the password and file to unauthorized individuals.
Some services, such as Google, (www.google.com) provide a database for document control that allow users to setup an administrator profile and then place documents or files into the database. Administrators or users can assign access rights to allow recipients to access the files in the database and download them as needed. While this type of service may be used to restrict access to a file, once the file is downloaded from the database, the owner of the file can no longer control access to it.
Sometimes the owner wants to control when and where a file is used by the intended recipient and the number of times a file is accessed. Sometimes, the owner may want to control how the file is used (i.e., ‘read only’, edit, copy, etc.) by the recipient. No satisfactory system and method exists today that enables the owner to control a file sent to a recipient in this manner.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and method to protect and control transmitted files from an owner to a recipient, that allows the owner to control, who, what, when, where and how a transmitted file is opened.